NYC's Asian-American community rallies behind Mayor Eric Adams against Zohran Mamdani: ‘I don't support socialists'
More than 100 Asian American community, civic and business leaders gathered in Confucius Plaza in Chinatown to back the incumbent, who is running for a second term as an independent in the November election.
'I say I support Democrats. I don't support socialists,' local Democratic district leader James Yu told the crowd, swiping at Mamdani, the party's nominee for mayor.
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3 The Asian-American community is rallying behind Mayor Eric Adams while calling out Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani.
William Farrington
'He's running in the wrong place,' Yu said about the left-wing Queens state Assemblyman.
'He should run for mayorship in Havana, Cuba – not in New York. In Nicaragua or Caracas, Venezuela.'
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Adams also took a veiled swipe at the frontrunner, as he touted his record on public safety just a day after racking up endorsements from a slate of Big Apple law enforcement unions.
'I want to support the police while others want criminals to come back on our streets and harm us,' he said.
'I want criminals to be made and serve their time in jail.'
The mayor appeared to be referencing recently resurfaced comments by Mamdani in which the lefty lawmaker in 2020 questioned the 'purpose' of prisons and jails and called for police not to respond to domestic violence calls.
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3 Civic and business leaders claim Mamdani is too radical, while Democratic district leader James Yu said, 'I say I support Democrats. I don't support socialists.'
ZUMAPRESS.com / MEGA
Mamdani supports creating a $1 billion Department of Community Safety as part of his mayoral campaign platform.
The new agency would take over certain responsibilities away from the NYPD, such as responding to 911 calls involving homeless or troubled individuals.
Adams, a former NYPD captain, will face Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and independent lawyer Jim Walden in addition to Mamdani in the November general election.
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While Hizzoner raked in an impressive $1.5 million for his war chest in recent weeks, the latest polling has him barely cracking into the double digits and trailing in fourth place.
And while Adams has also been earning new endorsements, he lost one from Councilman James Gennaro, a Queens Democrat, on Friday.
3 Adams also criticized Mamdani, as he has racked up endorsements from law enforcement unions across the city.
William Farrington
Gennaro had announced his support for Adams on July 7 but rescinded his backing in a 1 a.m. Facebook post noting that no one from the mayor's re-election campaign had reached out or even featured the endorsement on their website.
'I can only deduce that the Adams campaign does not want my endorsement, or at least not at this time. I have no idea what they're thinking because they have not spoken to me,' he wrote.
The mayor addressed the snafu in a press gaggle earlier in the day.
'I reached out to the councilperson, and we will communicate, you know, you know. What's different from me and the other candidates – I have a day job.'
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